A Most Unusual Friendship
by Makaria Lee
Summary: Like a cliché sitcom, Hope Cahill and Isabel Vesper-Hollingsworth become unlikely friends at college. Nothing could hinder their friendship now; not even the hunt for the 39 clues! ...Or could it?
1. Chapter 1

Hope Cahill's first day of college wasn't exactly what she expected.

What Hope expected was, upon walking into her dorm, finding an equally smart dorm-mate with whom she would be able to have intellectual conversations with and study with. Maybe even make a life-long friend.

What she found was a girl with jet-black hair, a cinnamonish complexion, and fashionable clothing sitting at the desk on the left side of the room. She was facing towards the left wall, so the girl's profile was visible. She had the kind of nose people get surgery for, unless she already got surgery.

"Hullo," Her British accent was monotone, as if she didn't really care. "You must be my roommate, Hope Cahill?"

"Uh," Hope nodded her head.

The girl pointed to herself. "Isabel Vesper-Hollingsworth." She jerked her thumb back, pointing to the right side of the room, "That's your side."

Hope took her suitcase back up and moved it over to the dresser. "So, are you from Britain?"

Isabel looked over at Hope. "What gave it away?" She asked in a serious, but joking, tone.

"I'm from Massachusetts, Attleboro to be exact."

"Never heard of it." Isabel turned back to whatever she was working on.

"OK, um..." Hope sighed and just ignored the failing conversation. She began to unpack her bags and place things where she liked them. It took a long time, but Hope was eventually able to fall down onto her bed. She turned her head to look over at Isabel. "So, how old are you?"

"Eighteen." She answered, again, monotonously.

"I'm nineteen." Hope said with a smile.

"Why are you so late into college? Shouldn't you be a sophomore then?" Isabel turned around in her chair, as if actually interested in the conversation.

"My mom put me into grade school late," Hope shrugged. "I don't know why."

"What's your mother's name?" Isabel laid her head in the nook of her arm.

"Grace."

Isabel's eyes lit up. "Sounds familiar. Grace Cahill…."

Hope shrugged. "She travels around a lot, she's a map maker."

"Ah, so you're stuck at home with your dad a lot then?"

"Nope." Hope got up from laying down and sat on the edge of her bed. "My dad died when I was young."

"Oh," Isabel seemed to regret asking the question. "I'm sorry, I didn't know…"

Hope waved her hand, as if to disregard the question. "No biggy, gets asked asked all the time."

"My parents don't really care about me. They let me do whatever."

"Why?" Hope placed her chin in her hands, her elbows propped up on her lap.

Isabel shrugged. "I guess it's because I get into so much trouble in the first place. I do it just to get their attention, though." She huffed. "They don't think too highly of me, because I'm the _younger_ sister."

"Ahhhh." Hope nodded her head. "I see, I see."

Isabel smiled as she turned back to her desk. "This might not be a waste of my time after all…"

* * *

Hope wasn't surprised the first time she walked in on Isabel with a man (keep in mind they weren't doing anything too dirty…yet.) It was an awkward silence, but Hope just walked over to her bed, put her bag down, and walked back out- but not before saying, "Abstinence". She then casually walked over to her boyfriend's room and stayed there for the night (Nothing dirty occurred - other than a make-out session or two - Hope was saving herself for marriage.)

The yelling and cursing she got from Isabel the next day was worth the look on both Isabel and the man's face (Hope never did learn the name of that man.) She made a mental note to do it more often.

"Alright," Isabel said one day, "from now on, we tell each other an hour or so in advance if we're going to bring a boy in here."

Hope, who was innocently drinking some soda, looked at Isabel questioningly. "Why? Because I keep walking in on you? I can't keep stowing off to my boyfriend's dorm, one of the professors are bound to find out sometime. I can't go to any of my other friends who are girls because they're all making out and having sex." Hope made a disgusted sound.

"Well," Isabel replied as she sat in her chair. "We're going to have to work _something_ out."

And so, after hours of planning that could've been spent on studying, they came onto an agreement. If they were going to bring a boy to the apartment, they would warn the other either an hour in advance, with a special sign on the door that has yet to be made, or convince the boy to take the girl to his dorm instead. They would only bring a boy to the dorm 3 times a month so that the other having to stay somewhere else for multiple times a week wouldn't raise any suspicions.

For a long while they both obeyed the rules they'd set. Occasionally they'd run into a dilemma where they both invited a boy (in Hope's case, her boyfriend Tommy) to the dorm at the same time, in which Hope and Tommy had to go to Tommy's dorm because Isabel _deserved_ their dorm. This always made Hope want to break Isabel's plastic-nose, but in the end they were still friends. There was only one instance that almost crumbled their friendship, but that's for another time (and of course, one accident that ruined their sisterhood eternally, but you all already knew that.)

You might be thinking, _does Isabel bring in a different boy every time_? The answer is, usually. Now don't go thinking Isabel a slut, she's not. Isabel just couldn't find a guy that doesn't have a British accent fetish. Hope had set her up on dates occasionally, but they all turned out the same. Guys only liked Isabel because of her accent, looks, and boobs (Which are most likely plastic, Hope decided - not that she looked. When you have cabin fever and are stuck with your 45% plastic roommate you try not thinking about what's real and what's not.) Hope felt sorry for her, she really did, but she was honestly surprised when Isabel came in and said:

"That's it! No more boys until I move back to England or get rid of my accent!" She flopped angrily onto her bed.

Hope removed her reading glasses. "What's with the sudden realization of semi-abstinence?"

Isabel just groaned. Hope took it as an acceptable answer.

* * *

They day Tommy broke up with Hope is a day Isabel would like to forget.

He wasn't even cute! Honestly, Isabel had no idea why Hope even liked the bugger. He had zits _all_ over his face, the _worst_ shade of blond hair, and the _weirdest_ set of brown eyes Isabel had even seen! Not to mention those _horrid_ glasses.

But the boy didn't matter, what mattered was that he'd broken up with Hope for some other girl no where near as beautiful as Hope.

The boy would never be the same after the Wrath of Isabel Vesper-Hollingsworth.

"Hey, Tommy." Isabel bat her eyelashes at said boy.

"Oh," He said uncomfortably , "Hey, Isabel."

"How've you been lately, Tommy?" She made sure to layer on the flattery thick, almost flirty.

Tommy darted his eyes around. "Oh, ya know. Listen, I gotta go. Victoria awaits."

"Is that your new girlfriend?" Isabel followed him.

Tommy's pace increased. "Yeah. So, uh, how's Hope?"

"Heartbroken." Isabel said as if it were normal. "She hasn't been able to keep a focused mind for _days_." Lies; Hope had been able to do nothing but study, as if her "low" grades (practically one hundreds all around) were the reason she no longer had a boyfriend.

"Well, that's, uh, too bad."

Tommy made a desperate move to get away from Isabel, but he wasn't quick enough. Isabel grabbed him by the arm and jerked him to a dark corridor.

"Look," Isabel said venomously, "You're going to apologize to Hope. You're going to give her a legitimate reason as to _why_," Isabel's grip tightened on Tommy's arm, "you so _rudely_ broke up with her. But don't you _dare_ ever _try_ to get her back; she deserves _way_ better than you." Isabel released her death grip on the poor boy, who scampered off into the distance.

Isabel took off the poison ring, and placed it in her pocket.

**squiggle :)**

"It's really weird," Hope said the next day after dinner. "Tommy came up to me during class, apologized, told me that he just wasn't that into me anymore, and left. He was shaking too." She knit her eyebrows. "To be honest I was thinking of breaking up with him about a week ago, he's kind of boring."

Isabel nodded. "I agree, total ass."

"Maybe not an ass-"

"Hope!" Ann, a sophomore and one of the girls' many friends, ran up to them on their trek back to their dorms.

"Yeah?"

"I'm so sorry about Tommy, I heard they don't know what's wrong-"

"What's wrong? Ann, Tommy and I broke up."

Ann seemed surprised. "I had no idea…" she then seemed to remember her purpose of being there. "He's in the hospital!"

This shocked Hope. "What? Why?"

Ann shrugged. "They don't know, some kind of poison, they're guessing-"

Isabel just smirked.

* * *

The day Vikram Kabra set foot in America was the day Isabel Vesper-Hollingsworth and Hope Cahill became frienemies.

"He's British!" Isabel gushed, "Which means he wouldn't like me for just my accent!"

"Keep in mind," Hope replied, "an American accent might be to him what an English is to those boys you dated."

Isabel's face fell immediately. "I never thought of that…" She flopped onto her bed and sighed.

**squiggle :)**

"Hey, can I sit here?" The sentence that threw everything off.

Hope looked up from her book and over the rim of her reading glasses only to find the nervous expression of Vikram Kabra.

He looked behind him, "I heard," he pointed - without looking I might add - to Isabel, "that you're from Britain."

Isabel, stunned, nodded. Then she realized that he couldn't see her nod, so she said, "Yes. Go ahead."

Vikram sat down immediately, "Crazy Americans!"

Hope cleared her throat.

Vikram looked up at her. "No offense," he said.

She shrugged before going back to her book.

"Is she mute?"

"No, just reading," She heard Isabel sigh, "She does this a lot, especially recently, after her arsehole boyfriend dumped her."

Hope's book was taken from her, "Excuse me, not to be rude," Vikram placed his thumb on Hope's page, close the book, and hid it under the table. "But why would someone break up with you?"

She shrugged.

"I need a better answer if you don't want me to bother you."

"He wasn't into me anymore, I guess."

Vikram feigned supreme shock. "No."

Isabel and Hope giggled at his odd sense of cheering Hope up. After the two calmed down, Vikram demanded an explanation on who would dare breakup with Hope. So Hope and Isabel took turns explaining, exactly, what had happened (Isabel, of course, left out the part of her sending Tommy to the hospital.)

"Do they know what's wrong with him?" Vikram asked.

Hope shrugged. "Some kind of poison."

Vikram looked at Isabel, who was - at all costs - avoiding eye contact with either him or Hope.

**squiggle :)**

That night, both girls talked about claims.

"I got his eyes." Hope said.

"No fair! Fine, I get his hair," Isabel said, proud of herself.

"Lips." Hope smiled.

Isabel growled at her friend.

The evening ended quite well, both girls couldn't contain their eventual laughter, and ended up on the floor.

"Wouldn't it be weird if one of us actually married him?" Hope mused.

* * *

"I don't really want to get married." Vikram muttered one day.

"Meaning?" Isabel asked, Hope could tell her heart died a little.

"My parents are setting me up for an arranged marriage as soon as I get home," Vikram's face squished up, as if he'd smelt something funny, "I don't want to go through with it. I don't want to get married to some girl I don't even know."

"Oh, my parents are doing the same…." Isabel mumbled. Hope had to wonder if she actually meant that, or if she was just saying it to sympathize with Vikram.

"You see, I wouldn't mind if it were either of you, you're both brilliant." Both girls cursed the blushes that appeared on their faces. "That's part of the reason I came to America for this little bit of college; so I could date without my parents knowing."

"Smart." Hope noted.

"Why thank you."

And thus began the conversation about uptight parents and arranged marriages. When Hope's turn came, Vikram and Isabel both said they were jealous that she could marry who ever she wanted.

"I almost wish I could get an arranged marriage," Hope admitted sheepishly. "Maybe that way I won't go through so much heartbreak by dating."

"_No_," Vikram said sternly. "You and me are going to a movie Saturday at noon. No exceptions." He got up and walked away fairly angrily.

Hope knit her eyebrows. "What was that about?"

"I think," Isabel said slowly, as if still trying to make sense of what happened, "he's going to prove some kind of point to you."

"What point is he trying to prove?"

"Arranged marriages are bad?"

They girls looked at each other in confusion.

Hope, after many minutes of attempted processing, said, "I have a date…with Vikram Kabra…."

Isabel, who seemed to finally realize this as well, pouted and replied, "No fair!"

"Well," Hope quickly countered, "it's not like he asked me to be his girlfriend or something! I'm sure it's just a one time thing!"

Isabel crossed her arms. "It'd better be. And no touching his hair! I claimed it, remember?"

Finally, the two friends were able to laugh at their odd predicament.

**squiggle :)**

When they went back to the dorm, Isabel immediately started helping Hope plan for the date, which was actually the next day.

"You have no decent clothing!" Isabel shrieked.

"All my clothes are decent." Hope muttered.

"Not dating decent." Isabel tapped her finger to her chin. "You'll have to borrow some of mine." She turned on her heels and walked over to her closet. As soon as she reached her destination, she began pulling out clothing, critiquing them, putting them against Hope, and even forcing Hope to try on a few.

It took a few minutes, but Isabel finally found something. She sighed, "It's not perfect, but it'll do…."

Hope rolled her eyes. "It's just a movie date, sheesh Isabel…."

**Omigods you guys, the first draft was so horrible I started laughing. xD**

**But seriously read and tell me of any errors. But don't mention how OOC Isabel, Hope, and Vikram are, here are my explanations:**

**Isabel: She'll get ruthless later on.**

**Hope: We haven't really seen much of her, have we? So until then, enjoy my interpretation of Hope (that sounds so deep…)**

**Vikram: Haven't seen him AT ALL, but he'll get ruthless later on as well. ;D**

**Oh, and Tommy's some random ass I made up. :p**

**And now to the explanation of what-the-hell-this-is:**  
**Simply what the title says, A Most Unusual Friendship. **

**In the sixth book, Isabel tells Amy (shark scene I believe) that she was close to her[Amy] parents. You might think she might've just been saying that to get info out of Amy, but I think she actually _was_ close to Hope and Arthur, and so this was spawned after many months.**

** No seriously, I've had this in my head since March 2010. ._.**

**All it is is little tid-bits from Isabel, Hope, Vikram, and eventually Arthur's past involving each other. I'm going to go all the way up to where Amy and Ian are five/six years old. And yes, Little!Ian and Little!Amy will interact (so will Baby!Dan and Baby!Natalie, but not as much as Ian and Amy.)**

**Will I be posting more? Yes.**  
**Will it be immediately/within the next week? No, probably not. You might not see another part until December starts**.

**-Makaria**


	2. Chapter 2

Of course Hope was lying when she said that "it was only a movie date and nothing more" (she didn't know it was a lie at the time, but it was). She hadn't expect to have so much _fun _ around Vikram (not to mention he was a great study partner). They went out on dates weekly, sometimes inviting Isabel, and eventually just decided to make it official.

"So," Isabel's voice was monotone, "officially boyfriend-girlfriend now, huh?"

Hope nodded.

She sighed, "I _guess _you can have his hair then."

Hope giggled. "And don't worry, you can have a try at him when he breaks up with me."

"More like I'll kick his ass if he breaks up with you." Isabel looked over at her friend from her homework, "What's with the pessimistic 'when_'_ he breaks up with you?"

"His parents are setting up an arranged marriage, remember?" Hope mumbled sadly.

"I meant what if _you _ break up with _him_."

"Oh god," Hope gushed, "I am _never _breaking up with him!" She began to laugh. "He's really nice…."

"I'm sure." Isabel mumbled.

"Oh, Isabel!" Hope went over and hugged her friend. "I'm sorry! I know you like him too…."

Isabel laughed as she hugged Hope with one arm, "It's all right. Early bird catches the worm."

Hope's alarm rang. "Oh, gotta go! See you later!" She grabbed a jacket and fled out of the door.

"But the worm who sleeps in gets to live." Isabel grumbled through clenched teeth.  
**minorline:D**  
Isabel made sure it was impossible for Hope to figure out her plan. She double checked, triple checked, and even quadruple checked everything. If she had a single doubt in her mind that something may not work, she scrapped it and moved on to a more stable plan. She couldn't risk a _single_ thing to go wrong.

Around eleven o'clock at night, the door opened. Isabel, not in a rush to avoid suspicion, hid all of her plans in an envelope.

"You _still _have homework?" Hope asked as she closed the door.

Isabel sighed. "Yep. So," she swiveled her body on her chair so that she was facing Hope, "how'd the date go?"

Isabel watched, almost sickened, as Hope described her date with Vikram. How _perfectly _it'd gone, how _magnificent _the food was, and how _kind _Vikram was.

Normally Isabel wouldn't befriend someone like Hope (normally she wouldn't befriend _anyone_), but this was the daughter of _Grace Cahill_. Almost a direct source! She'd done everything she could to bribe and hack the system and get Hope as a roommate! Oh Mum and Dad were going to be so proud….

Eventually both girls decided it was near time for bed, and prepared for it.

"Night, Isabel."

"Good night, Hope."

* * *

Isabel seemed to get increasingly monotonous as time went by, Hope noticed. She and Vikram had been dating an official 3 months, and Isabel seemed to get bitterer as the days past. Some times Hope heard Isabel mumbling in her sleep about "the perfect plan." She began to worry about her friend, and she finally decided (grudgingly) what to do to cure her ill companion.

"We can still be friends…?" Hope mumbled after dropping the bomb. They were sitting on a park bench - in the dead of January winter - facing off into the common grounds, avoiding the other's gaze.

"I get it," Vikram replied, "you're still in that stage of life where friends are more important than boyfriends, lovers, and the like."

Hope nodded.

Vikram nodded as if it were still sinking in. "I understand. I was actually going to have to break up with you within the next week anyway."

Hope jerked her head, nearly giving herself whiplash in the process, in Vikram's direction. "What? Why?"

"Gotta go back to England." He shrugged. "Meeting my potential spouses." He stuck his tongue out. "No fun, I don't want to go." He sighed, "But I've got to."

Hope frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Vikram nodded. "So am I." He scratched the back of his head. "I had much fun with you and Isabel, if that counts for something."

Hope smiled and nudge him with her shoulder. "Yeah… We had some kick-ass times."  
_**liiiiiine**_  
"You-You…" Isabel stared blank-eyed at Hope. "You _broke up_ with him?"

Hope nodded her head. "Right now I'm more interested in friends than boyfriends."

Isabel - cold, ruthless Isabel - hopped up from her bed and hugged her best friend. "That was so…so…_nice_."

"I'm a nice person," Hope explained.

_I'm not …_ Isabel thought with regret.**  
minorline:D**  
Isabel got up around midnight, grabbed her master plan, and headed out the door. She needed to dispose it somewhere where Hope wouldn't have any chance of stumbling upon it.

"Hey."

Isabel, by instinct, reached for the knife concealed inside her jacket, but whoever called her attention was ready for such an instinct.

"It's me," Isabel recognized the whispered voice immediately, "Vikram."

"What are you _doing _out here?" Isabel growled.

"I could ask the same of you!" He answered in an equally frightening growl.

"Let go of my arm!" He did so, Isabel turned around to face him. "What do you want?"

Vikram casually eyed the folder in Isabel's hand. "Is that your master plan to break me and Hope up?"

Isabel was speechless. "No…no…no _no._ Why would I want you two to…."

"You only befriended her because she's Grace Cahill's daughter, correct?" Vikram raised an eyebrow as he spoke his rhetorical question (rhetorical because he already knew the answer, and he knew Isabel knew he knew).

"How did you know?"

He smirked. "Great minds think alike."

"So," Isabel regained a strong posture, "you only dated her because she's Grace Cahill's daughter?"

"No, I befriended her for that reason, I dated her because I found her…_intriguing._" His smirk grew into a crooked grin.

"That's sick. What is she, a tool?"

"That's what you seem to think." And with that ever happy note, Vikram turned on his heel and walked away, leaving a sick feeling in Isabel's gut. He stopped suddenly. "Just as a confirmation, I'm Lucian. You?"

"Lucian, naturally."

Vikram nodded and walked off.

* * *

Hope was off getting disgusting airport food, leaving Vikram and Isabel together.

"So," Isabel started off once Hope was out of hearing range, "exactly how much of what you told us is a lie?"

Vikram shrugged, "Most of it's partially true, some of it's stretched truth. Like the arranged marriage part."

"Do I even _know _you?"

Vikram chuckled. "I'm expected to get married to a woman of high social and Lucian status." He turned to Isabel. "Which reminds me: Next time you're in London, try and find me?"

Before Isabel could think of a reply, Hope came back with sodas. "All I could find that wouldn't upset your stomach." She explained.

Vikram grabbed his gratefully, "Thanks anyway, I suppose I'll just have something on the flight."  
**minorline:D**  
Hope sighed.

"What's wrong?" Isabel, facing the road as she was the one driving, said with actual concern in her voice.

"I dunno. I feel like we're going to see him again." Hope began picking at her nails.

"Probably," Isabel thought of how he told her to "try and find him." Was that a hint at something?

"Fate works in mysterious ways… I feel like I didn't even really know him to be honest."

_You have no idea._ "We only knew him - for what? A year? Let's see, we were half way through freshmen year, and now we're at the end of sophomore year. So yeah, a little over a year. Not long."

"I guess…."

* * *

But they stayed in touch. They sent letters back and forth, Vikram to Hope, Vikram to Isabel, and vise versa in both cases. Sometimes he would send some coded message to Isabel, she made sure Hope never saw or knew about those messages. It would be embarrassing and punishable if Hope were to learn of certain Lucian secrets. Vikram, Isabel read once, was able to pull some strings and get Isabel into his college back in the UK.

_I don't want you to react just yet_, the letter read, _they'll be sending you a letter. React then_.

"Noooooo, now I'll be _alone_!" was Hope's reaction to the news. "I mean, I'm happy for you, but I'm _alooooone_."

Alone-ness didn't stop Hope from taking Isabel out to a congratulatory dinner, though. It was one of those semi-fancy restaurants that Isabel didn't particularly hate, and Hope could afford. Double bonus.

"So," Isabel said in the middle of dinner. "If you had two kids, a boy and a girl, what would you name them?"

"Well," Hope made a thinking face, the kind of thinking face that made people wonder about you. "It depends on the father, really, but I've always like Amelia or Amy for a girl. What about you?"

"Natalie's been a favorite since I could remember, Nicholas as well. I don't honestly care what the father thinks; I birthed them, I'm naming them."

Hope chuckled at the philosophy. "What's with the sudden name conversation? Are you," she gasped, "_pregnant?_"

Isabel looked at Hope in a way that you could instantly know that Isabel wished to throw her fork at Hope.

"But," Hope said, still giggling, "I've always, always, _always _- since I was a little girl - _loved _the name Ian." She shrugged. "I don't know why, I just do."

Isabel knit her eyebrows. "Ian?"

"It means 'God is Gracious'." She silently waited for an answer. She didn't get one. "Have I swayed you?" Hope asked with a smirk.

"Thank you, I no longer know what to name my son."

The two threw around more baby names, up to the point where they would be able to make a baby names book - maybe even a series.

"But," Hope said as they walked out of the restaurant. "There are four names I will _never_ name any of my children.

"And they are?" Isabel asked as she stepped into her car.

"Luke, Thomas, Katherine, and Jane." Hope began to back out of the parking spot.

"Excuse me?" Isabel mumbled in shock.

"I've never liked those names." Hope explained. "Bad story behind them, but you already know that story, because you're a Lucian."

Isabel, shocked, stared at her friend.

"Yeah, I know. I've known for a long time. Don't look at me like that, you honestly didn't expect me to be a Cahill? Do you not know my last name?

"I know… You're just too sweet to be involved in something like the Hunt."

"Yeah," Hope sighed, "you too."

* * *

"I'm gonna miss you! Write, OK?" Hope let go of her friend and dabbed at her eyes.

Isabel nodded. "Of course I'll write, I'm more worried about you writing back."

Hope made a "pfffft" noise. "I always write back, though it may take a few months…."

Isabel started lecturing Hope about how important it was to not procrastinate and to write back almost immediately after she finished reading a letter. Hope, who wasn't exactly paying attention, just nodded and "mhm"-ed when she felt it necessary. Isabel finally realized and started to talk about the first subject on her mind - how ugly red hair is (Isabel didn't believe this at all, but she wanted to see Hope's reaction.)

"…and it's just so _tacky_."

"I totally agree." Hope mumbled.

It took about a year until Hope finally got Isabel to tell her why she was laughing so hard.

An announcement over the intercom said that Isabel's flight was getting ready to board. The girls shared one last good-bye hug before Isabel had to leave.

Hope didn't think of herself as a sappy girl, the kind of girl that would have a life like one of those weird romance movies. Hope was an adventurous girl, the daughter of Grace Cahill! Adventure and risk were practically in her blood! She didn't have a problem at all with this, she wasn't scared of travel or anything, but she did have secret wishes.

It was times like these, friends moving away, that triggered those secret wishes. A wish to be removed from the Cahill family (Hope even considered not having children, so that they wouldn't have to go through with the "family job"), a wish that her mother had not gotten her involved in the hunt, a wish - sometimes - that she had never been born.

There were, however, a few things that happened during the Hunt that made Hope proud to be a Cahill. One of which was imbedded in her wrist (but don't tell anyone that).

Years from now, when a blazing red painted her face, Hope would make another wish.

That she had never met Isabel Vesper-Hollingsworth, and that they were never friends.

Unfortunately, as Hope was only twenty, she would likely never fathom herself making such a wish. Sure Isabel was Lucian, but not _all _Lucians are bad. Luke himself wasn't as bad as he is portrayed today, in no way did he start the fire that burned down the Cahill Mansion. Sadly, he was blamed for it.

_Just an example of how twisted this family has become._ Hope reminded herself constantly. She found herself thinking the reminder so often as to justify what she was doing. Though not usually "bad" they were not always the most morally correct actions.

_Isabel and Vikram probably do worse._ Would this be considered wrong? Thinking badly of her friends without them knowing? _No,_ Hope told herself, _they probably do it themselves with me._

She sighed and leaned her head against the wheel of her car for a moment before driving off home.

**If this fic seems a bit rushed, that's on purpose. I'm not planning for this to be any more than ten chapters (which, in itself, is probably far over what the actual amount of chapters will be.) So I'm only illustrating the main parts of the story between them. It'll most likely end with the fire.**

**The first segment of the next part will probably be major time skip, where Hope is around 30 and has to go to Turkey for something (and you know what that means~ 3) If not the first segment, then one of them will be.**

**Next update will be, for sure this time, sometime in December.**


	3. Chapter 3

Education was very important to Hope - it was important to a lot of people, actually. Hope hadn't exactly decided what she wanted to do, but it had to be some kind of cover up for the clues. She would _not _let the Clues go to someone who wasn't a Madrigal, not even Isabel or Vikram. Not knowing what she was going to do at this point in college was really, really bad. If she didn't decide soon, she might be stuck where she is now forever.

Maybe she would do what her mom did; a cartographer. The drawing maps part wasn't what 'excited' Hope, it was the exploring the world. That was the absolute _perfect_ excuse to travel around; she might even get to work with her mom on something! Working with family was a definite bonus to that job, but Hope had to remember that her mother wasn't as young as she used to be; so that may not last very long. Not to mention money was another factor; a cartographer made about as much as a well-payed high school teacher.

Another option was a teacher. It was a horrible option when the Clues were put into perspective, they didn't travel much. Hope had always liked kids, though, and actually wanted to teach when she was younger. That is, until, her mother introduced her to the Clues. That became her second priority, behind education. The daughter of Grace Madeleine Cahill _would not_ be anything less than a college graduate.

Another thing Hope was interested in was archeology. Again, because it involved lots of traveling and money. Out of the three options she picked for herself, that one interested her the most. Messing around in the dirt and with power tools was also a pretty big bonus…

So, still undecided, Hope sat herself down and worked out the pros and cons to each job. Money, family time available, Clue Hunting time available, do hot guys also work in this, and if she was actually interested in it. Like all college students, she got bored and tired after the first three examples and took a nap. After her nap, she read a book, did jumping jacks, read another book, and just plain procrastinated her list.

She did want to figure this out, but she didn't want to at that time. She knew that it would come back to bite her in, oh say, a year. When she was still in college with no idea what the hell she was doing.

Hope hated herself for not deciding. She was your typical, confusing girl who could not make up her mind to save herself from death. It was rather pathetic, and Hope knew it. Isabel and Vikram, through their letters, encouraged Hope to hurry her ass up and pick something. Vikram kept telling her she would make a great politician (Hope was sure he thought she was a Lucian), and Isabel wanted her to be a midwife and move to England and deliver Isabel's babies (Hope nearly threw up at the idea; she _would not_ be able to handle that blood).

Hope looked back at her pros and cons list, even though it wasn't really filled out. She skimmed what she had already put down, and procrastinated a little bit more. She forced herself to lock up her books, and sat down at her desk to make a decision. She crossed out teacher due to no travel, and took a deep breath. With cartographer, she might be able to work with her mom. But for how long? Grace Cahill wasn't getting younger (unlike Isabel, or so it seemed with all the surgeries she was getting and planning to get), and she was already rich. She may not need a job anymore.

She circled archeologist, not realizing her mistake and miracle.

* * *

Hope, now twenty-eight, was glad she made the decision to be an archeologist. She hadn't been on the job for long, but she already loved it. Not only did she get to explore the world, but she also found one Clue within a month of the work! She didn't have much time to write her friends anymore, though, she only got to write one or two times out of a month. She was much too busy being out_ there_.

Right now she was on a plane that was heading for Turkey, looking for a clue she believed to be sulfur (or perhaps it was lily). She was clicking her pen out of boredom, making all kinds of random tunes with it. Eventually, she got bored of the annoyed looks from those around her and took a nap.

Hope dreamt a lot, but she could never figure out what she dreamt. Sometimes she would remember, but most of the time she wouldn't. It was very annoying, because Hope liked free entertainment. Sometimes her dreams would give her hints, as if the Madrigal DNA in her was telling her where the clues were. She woke up in the morning knowing she dreamt something important, but not remembering what it was.

Hope went by her gut. Because in her gut, was Cahill. And Cahills knew where the clues were, especially the Madrigals. It seems like it wouldn't be that way, but because of that instinct, Hope has been able to find three clues (not counting the one her mother pretty much gave her), and hide or destroy all of them. Don't go thinking that wasn't much, Hope didn't have much time to Hunt because of college and the beginnings of work. She really wished she _did_ have more time, but sadly that was not to be.

Until about last week, in which she got the opportunity to stay in Turkey for a while. Trips like this were like getting _paid_ to Hunt the clues! It was fantastic. Sweet, sweet victory.

Hope didn't particularly care about love at the moment, she was too busy with the Clues and her job. That would soon change, though, as would her views on many things. She didn't make herself look beautiful by adding make-up or anything, but soon she would find herself calling Isabel almost daily to get tips.

What Hope didn't know, though, was that this trip was going to change everything. For the better, and for the worse.

* * *

Everything changed with a single:

_BUMP_.

"Oh! I'm sorry!"

"No, it's no big deal. Do you need help picking that up?"

"No, no. It's fine. I've got it."

_BONK_

"Ow!"

"Sorry!"

"Here I'll-"

"No, no! It's OK. I've got it."

"I'm sorry about that."

"It's no problem. Um, my name is Hope."

"Arthur."

"I bet you get a lot of king jokes."

"Not as many as you'd think actually."

"That's nice; that you don't get so many jokes about your name, I mean."

"What about you? Do you get any clichés?"

"About my name? No, not really. Not to my face anyway. I've heard some talk behind my back about my name from coworkers, but they're drunk or something so I don't take offense."

"You work with drunkards?"

"They only get drunk once every two months. It's no big deal, they pick on other people too."

"I can tell you're a fairly optimistic person."

"I try to be."

"I've gotta go. Nice meeting you."

"Yeah, you too."

* * *

Of course, that wasn't the end. Arthur Trent had a mission, a very difficult mission that he almost did not want to complete. It came with multiple parts, the first being put into action this very second. It was probably the most difficult part of his mission, and it was the part he wasn't so thrilled about.

You see, Arthur didn't particularly believe in breaking hearts. Even if it _was_ for the Clues; it just wasn't gonna happen. Not morally anyway, or with any regret in the pit of his stomach. Sure he had been practically raised by the most ruthless people in the world, but that didn't mean he didn't have a heart. He had one…somewhere…maybe. That wasn't the point though, the point was that he would try to make this as painless as possible for the girl.

After all, it wasn't every day that you were tricked into love and then have your heart broken by the man you trusted most.

That was step one of Arthur's mission: to get Hope Cahill to fall in love with him. He would get her to trust him, tell him all her clues, and then break her heart. Whether that involved killing had yet to be said, though Arthur was sure something of the sort would be put into action eventually.

When he found out she would be in Turkey, he quickly took a minor job there. Something that he could easily drop when Hope went back to the US so he could follow her. He then tracked her for a few days, trying to predict her most obvious movements, where she would most likely be on this and this day. That's how he found her that one day, they day they introduced themselves. He bumped into her on purpose, everything was artistically planned. Nothing could go wrong.

Except, of course, if one thing happened. But that thing was so unlikely to happen that Arthur chuckled at the very idea of it happening. It was so unlikely, in fact, that he didn't even have a back up plan for it if it were to happen. What he should've thought about though, was that the unthinkable always managed to happen. Somehow or another, fate would have its way, and fate just so happened to want the unthinkable happen to Arthur Trent.

It was destined for Arthur Trent and Hope Cahill to fall in love.

**Lots of clichés in this one, isn't there? **

**For those of you who are hell-bent that Arthur Trent was _not_ apart of the Vespers, please read page 17 of the _Black Book of Buried Secrets; _it tells us that Arthur was not born into the Vesper family, but instead he was born into a family with "close ties to this secret organization." One of his missions? To make Hope Cahill fall in love with him? Did it fail? Technically no, but technically yes. I'm sure it's not that hard to figure out why.**

**I think I'll be updating this once or twice a month, if I'm not too busy with schools. Finals are starting up, and that's one of the reason this is so late/lacking. The other reason is that I'm finally writing my own novel. It's sci-fi. Yay~**

**Enjoy this one, crappy part.**


	4. Chapter 4

"He's very nice." Hope smiled as she crunched on a chip.

"_Really_? Hope, think about it for a second," Isabel paused, "You bumped into each other in Turkey – _Turkey_ of all places! – you speak for one minute, you meet up miraculously again multiple times - even back in America! - and now you two are best friends?" She paused again and took a deep breath. "Sorry to say, but that sounds rather suspicious."

Hope scoffed. "I was… weirded out at first, I admit. But he's not a creepy stalker, he's nice. He really is."

"What did you say his name was?"

"Arthur."

"So he just-so-happens to have the same name as King Arthur?"

"Now you're just making up excuses." Hope pointed an accusing finger at her friend. "I came all the way to England to visit you, and you give me criticism about my new friend?" She fake cried. "I thought you would've behaved better!"

Isabel pouted. "He's obviously much more than a 'friend' to you, Hope. Especially since you keep asking me for make-up advice. Which, by the way," Isabel inspected Hope's make-up, "seems to be working very well. Nice job."

Hope nodded her appreciation.

"He may _seem_ nice, Hope. But I would still be wary if I were you. He could be a sociopath!"

Hope rolled her eyes. "He is _not_, he's really really nice." She fiddled with her fingers as she blushed.

Isabel raised an eyebrow. Hope couldn't be falling for this boy, could she? Surely she had much better taste than this man! Though from Hope's tellings, he did sound rather nice… Isabel shook her head. "What's his full name?"

"Arthur Trent." Hope smiled. "Has a nice ring doesn't it?"

"Hope Trent doesn't, though." Isabel took a sip of her drink.

Hope chuckled. "Oh, I wouldn't be taking his last name if we get married. I would keep my last name, _he_ would be the one to change _his_ name."

"You are such a feminist." She said as she rolled her eyes. That name, Arthur Trent, sounded very familiar to Isabel. _I'll have to look it up when I get the chance_, she thought to herself, _just to confirm any suspicions I have._ Isabel eyed her friend. There was definitely evidence that Hope was falling for this 'Arthur' fellow. The blush on her face was all the evidence Isabel needed on the theory. She wondered briefly if Arthur was just an innocent non-Cahill, and if she was making the wrong accusations. _Surely coincidences like this just don't happen, not unless you're related to the Cahills in some way._ She sighed.

"What's wrong?" Hope asked, switching her love-struck facial features to a sincere worry.

Isabel shook her head. "Nothing. It-it's nothing."

* * *

Isabel's suspicions were confirmed – Arthur Trent was working with the Vespers. _More than likely that means he's just trying to milk clues out of Hope… like I a-_. Isabel groaned at the thought. Sure, she was friends with Hope now, but in the beginning it was supposed to just be a mission from the Lucians, very similar to what Arthur is doing now.

Isabel herself was a Vesper, but the Lucians thought she and her side of the family were inactive, or completely unaware of their family's history. _That, or the Lucians don't know what's going on with the Vespers._ Isabel had once told herself. She sighed deeply, making friends with Hope was much more difficult than she intended. Hope herself was very kind and happy towards Isabel and their friendship, but it was getting Clues out of her that was difficult. Isabel remembered the nights where she went through much of Hope's stuff – including a diary or two – to look for any hint of a Clue. Things she wasn't very proud of now. At first, all she wanted was to make Mum and Dad proud, but now that she had an actual friend…

Things were changing in Isabel, that was of no doubt, but it was impossible to tell if they were for the better or for the worse. Not even Isabel herself could tell if she liked the changes going on inside her. After all, she was raised by Lucian _and_ Vesper parents, members of two of the most dangerous and unforgiving clans in the world. Surely the will to do harm in change for good was in her blood? It didn't seem like it was, not any more. When Isabel first realized that she was actually becoming _friends_ with Hope, she panicked. The closest thing she had to a friend before was a girl – if she even remembered correctly – named Nataliya, and they weren't really friend friends, not like Isabel was with Hope.

She wondered, briefly, what Vikram or Irina would do. Irina, the Russian girl that Isabel and Vikram had met together while visited another college. Vikram would do what ever his parents wanted in the end, Isabel decided, and Irina would do whatever was best for the mission.

So what was Isabel supposed to do?

* * *

Arthur grabbed Hope by the waist. "Surprise!"

She giggled. "Hey, haven't seen you in a while. Where'd you disappear to?"

_Informing my superiors about you._ "Visiting my cousin in Australia. You should meet him, you'd like him."

Hope began walking, Arthur following behind. "Is that the infamous Shepard I've heard all about?"

Arthur smiled. "I wouldn't call him _infamous_, but yeah. That's him." He put his arm around Hope's shoulder. "How was England?"

"Great, my friend Isabel wants to meet you."

Arthur scrunched his brow. "Isabel…?"

"Vesper-Hollingsworth. She's been my friend since freshman year of college. We're like this." Hope crossed her pointer and middle finger on her left hand. Arthur didn't see, he was too distracted by the girl's name.

_Vesper-Hollingsworth?_ He thought, _Oh no…_

Hope noticed the anguish evident in Arthur's eyes. "Is something wrong?" She mumbled.

Arthur seemed to have noticed he was publicly displaying his emotion. He straightened his face into a smile. "No! Everything's cool."

Hope wasn't assured of this, but nevertheless decided to let it slide. For now.

"Anyway," Arthur's smile widened. "I was wondering if, maybe, you would like to start going out or something." He stopped walking and gave Hope a pleading look.

Hope's eyes widened. "Wha? Arthur I–"

"I _really_ like you, Hope." _I'm also totally not using you to get ahead in the Hunt._ "Please? Just one date! Just one and then you can decide whether you really want to go out."

Hope bit her bottom lip. She could literally feel her face heat up at the thought of them being a couple! Isabel had told her to be wary about Arthur, simply because they had met up accidently a lot back in Turkey. And when they found each other in the U.S. after Hope came back from that trip… Hope had to admit that is _was_ a tab bit suspicious. But deep down, Hope knew that Arthur wouldn't ever try to hurt her.

Unless, of course, this wasn't the real Arthur. It was very possible that this man was an actor hired by the Janus to get information out of Hope; his name might not even be Arthur!

Hope bit her thumb. _No, Arthur is kind. I'm just making myself paranoid. He doesn't know about the Clues…_ She pressed her lips together before looking Arthur in the eye, and saying

* * *

"Yes."

The word sent a shock of what Arthur thought might've been guilt up his spine. No, it was excitement. _Hope said yes!_ He was shocked by his own thought. That shouldn't even be apart of the concern in his mind, he was concerned that he wouldn't be able to get any information out of her. Maybe it was because, if she accepted that date, it would make it all the easier to make her fall for him quicker. Yeah, that must've been it.

Arthur's smile widened yet again. "Great! How about we go to a restaurant tomorrow? Or a walk through a park? Board games maybe? Anything would be fine with me."

Hope thought about it for a minute. "How about we walk through a park, go to one of our houses to play a board game, and then go out to eat?"

Arthur smiled yet again. "That sounds great! Is this Saturday good?"

Hope looked at him with a strange smirk. "Arthur, _today_ is Saturday."

"Exactly."

* * *

**Happy New Year, my friends! I'm totally not sixteen days late! Ah-ha-ha!**

**I wrote this all in one sitting. It was so intense man. **

**But srsly, I started writing this at one, and finished at four. I had a lot of distractions. ._.**

**Not much to say about this one, enjoy~!**

**lovely1227 - You'll probably never see this: but yes this is on deviantART; as KonaneXUchiha is what I am known as on deviantART. :P**


	5. Chapter 5

There were many things about Isabel Vesper-Hollingsworth that were true. It was true that she was the daughter of a Vesper and an inactive Lucian; it was true that she figured out about the Clue Hunt and instantly wanted to be apart of it; it was true that she was really only doing it to impress her parents (who had never truly cared for her); it was true that her only sibling's death _might_ have been her fault; and it was true that, at first, she was only using Hope Cahill as a pawn in her ploy for the Clues. What was not true, however, was that Isabel was unsure. About anything.

And yet, here she is: Pacing her room in a manner that clearly showed that she was worried and unsure about something. Irina, the weird Russian Lucian she and Vikram had found, was watching her.

"Are you sure you are fine?" She had asked, her accent thick. "You do not look fine."

Isabel let out a long, hysterical moan. "No! I am most certainly not fine!" She threw her hands in the air. "For the first time ever, I don't know what to do!" She began to pace faster. "I've jacked cars, I've snuck into schools at night–"

"As I have." Irina pointed out.

Isabel glared at the girl. "I. Don't. Care." She turned back to her pacing. "I have done so many things that you think I would have absolutely no sense! Common or book!" She ruffled her hair. "I'm supposed to be one of the smartest Lucians ever! And yet here I am, unsure of one tiny, little detail."

"Maybe you are looking at situation wrong." Irina suggested. "Try different angle?"

Isabel fell unto her bed, her head resting on her chin. "What other possible angles matter?" She wrinkled her eyebrow for a moment, before remembering that it caused wrinkles.

"Hope's." Irina said.

Isabel snorted. "Hope's? Why would I-"

She glanced at Irina, who was looking at her with a stern – yet soft – stare.

"– Do that?" she continued.

Irina sighed. "Because she is friend. She deserves say, da?"

"No." Isabel hissed. "My life, my say."

Irina rolled her eyes. "Well, I must make call. Be better when I come back."

Isabel grunted. "You can't control how I feel."

The door Irina went through shut louder than it normally would have.

Isabel rolled over on her side. Should she ask Hope? Isabel couldn't really recall a single moment in her life where she ask anyone for help. She reached up to her desk, grasping the last letter Hope had written. She reread it for the third time:

_Dear Isabel,_

_Arthur and I finally live together! Never thought this would happen, did you? Took long enough, I say. Two whole years, jeez._

_How are you and Vikram going? Yeah, I know you're an item. He told me, mhm. I told you you'd get your chance with him. But you didn't believe me, gosh! Such a horrible friend!_ – Isabel winced at the truth – _Haha, just kidding. _

_Do you think someday we could go on a double date or something? That would be fun, wouldn't it? Arthur's the kind of guy who likes to interact with more than one person. Except during certain circumstances (You know what I mean)._

_The job is amazing! I can't believe I got this amazing job so quickly and easily! It's awesome! How's your career path going? I heard you and Vikram were working together as art dealers; last time I checked you were Lucians, not Janus! Haha! Whatever makes you cash, I suppose. To each his own. Et cetera, et cetera._

_How's Irina? Tell her I said 'hi,', would you? – _Isabel nodded to herself, she had done this request.

_Well, I have to go now. Arthur and I are on our way to Australia, to visit his cousin Shepard._

_Love,_

_Hope Cahill._

Isabel sighed deeply.

* * *

_Dear Hope,_

_It's about time, I was beginning to think the two of you would break up if you didn't move into the same house soon. Congrats._

_Yeah, Vikram and I are a 'thing,' we're business partners too, like you said. I'm surprised you haven't asked about the whole 'Vikram was supposed to have an arranged marriage' thing. Well – in case you're thinking of it now – yes, he was. Guess who his parents picked out for him? So, yeah, no date's been set yet, though. We're going to wait until we're very well off (money wise). Please don't spazz out like you normally would._

_As for the double date, I have no idea._

_Irina's fine, and she says 'hello.'_

_Love,_

_Isabel Vesper-Hollingsworth_

Hope was very happy for her friend. After all, Isabel had had a crush on Vikram in college just like Hope had. She almost felt like their marriage, though, would have little love. College crushes don't last that long. Though, in some lucky cases, that wasn't true. All she hoped was that their kids, should they have them, would be treated properly and well raised.

"Arthur." Hope nudged him with her elbow. They were on a plane heading for Sydney, where they would then meet up with Shepard.

"Hm?" He was looking through a book.

"You know how Vikram and Isabel are going to get married?"

"Yes."

"Well, hypothetically speaking, if you and I were to get married–"

"Where are you going with this?" Arthur smirked.

"I'm just saying, do you think–"

"Our kids could have play-dates?" Arthur looked up from his book. "Yes, Hope." He scoffed. "In the few hours their kids would be with us, I think we'd take much better care of them than Isabel and Vikram."

Hope sighed. "That's what I was afraid of." She picked at her nails.

"Don't do that," Arthur instructed, "you'll bleed."

"What am I supposed to do then?" She mumbled, "I'm _bored_."

Arthur chuckled. "Read a guide."

"I already did that."

"Than take a nap. My shoulder feels too light."

Hope laughed as she leaned down to lay her head on her boyfriend's shoulder. She took in a few deep breaths, and lulled herself to sleep.

* * *

"You're _living_ together?" Shepard gasped.

Arthur nodded.

"That certainly wasn't apart of the plan."

Arthur shrugged.

"Wait a second," Shepard circled around Arthur, who was looking at Hope on the beach, playing around with some younger children. "Are you _falling_ for her?"

That shook Arthur out of his trance. "What? No, of course not!"

Shepard smiled. "Dude, it's cool."

Arthur grumbled. "Easy for you to say, your side of the family is inactive." He hung his head. "Do you even _know_ what my superiors would think? What they would _do_?"

"Bad things?"

"_Very_ bad things."

"Resign." Shepard shrugged as he leaned back against a fence.

Arthur looked at his friend through the corner of his eye. "I'll be disowned."

"If you love her," He said, point to Hope, "you wouldn't care."

Arthur's lips formed a thin line. Shep had a really good point, there was no denying that. But could Arthur handle not having a family to depend on?

"I'll wait it out."

"You've known her for over two years, I think you'd know by now."

Arthur sighed. This was getting difficult, he wasn't used to being unsure.

* * *

"Why couldn't Shepard come?" Hope asked. "Surfing in the dark seems like his kind of thing." She pushed her dress down, the wind only made it fly back up.

"Because this is a date," Arthur answered, "Shep isn't allowed on our dates."

Hope laughed. "Being a third wheel isn't _so_ bad."

Arthur cracked a smile. "Hey, will you sit down? I've got something to tell you, and then something to ask you."

Hope plopped on the ground next to Arthur, her dress becoming a parachute briefly. "What's up?" She asked immediately.

"I know about the Clue Hunt." He said, a little too quickly to understand. He repeated the sentence slower. He waited for Hope to make some kind of response. When she didn't, he moved on. "And-And I work for the Vespers. My mission was to make you fall in love with me, so that you'd tell me any Clues you have." Arthur looked up at Hope nervously.

Her express was complete deadpanned. There was no frown, no movement of the eyebrows, not even a twitch! Arthur wrinkled his eyebrows. "Well? Aren't you going to freak out and break up with me?"

Hope shook her head. "No, I already knew all that."

Arthur's eyes widened. "What? Since when?"

"Since we started dating. Mr. McIntyre, my mom's lawyer, was watching your every move. He figured it out pretty quickly, and told me."

"Why did you still go out with me then?" He grit his teeth. Being the stalker is one thing, but being stalked? And not even noticing? That's completely different.

Hope looked at him with a soft look in her eyes, a small smile played on her lips. "Because I sensed you would change. That you didn't like what you were being ordered to do. So I waited to see if you would change."

"Have I?" He mumbled.

Hope leaned over and kissed Arthur's cheek. "I think so."

Arthur smiled. "Well, _I_ know so. Because, if everything goes as planned, I'm about to be disowned."

Hope creased her brow. "What do you mean?"

"Stand up, please."

"First sit down, now stand up, make up–"

"_Stand up, please._" Arthur repeated.

Hope sighed and did as she was told. "Alright, now–" Hope silenced herself as she watched Arthur reposition himself, so that he was bending down on one knee.

"Hope Olivia Cahill, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

**Nothing really to say here, move along with your business. Again, tell me of any errors.**

**I do not own the 39 Clues, though I do own many cards, and all the books. I don't own the puzzle, however. Siiiigh.**


	6. Chapter 6

Hope tried her best not to be the jealous type of person, she really did.

It was very hard when your best friend was Isabel Kabra.

Yes, she was Kabra now, as she refused to go with Vesper-Hollingsworth-Kabra (Hope had wondered briefly if it were even possible to have the name), stating that she had always hated her last name. Hope hadn't minded her name, though it was quite the mouthful.

The wedding was, as expected, extravagant. Both Hope and Arthur – who had been married the month before – were invited. They almost regretted coming, because it made their wedding look like a garden party. It was held in a gargantuan church, to start off, and the ceiling was so high up that you could barely see the diamond – yes, _diamond_ – chandelier. There were white and red rose petals all over the floor and pews, the drapes varied from red-white-red-white and son on, and bridesmaid dresses match the drapes.

Hope hadn't been invited to be a bridesmaid. She had been sour on the subject for a while, but she wanted to hear if Isabel had any explanation for the matter. Hope had assumed it might've been Isabel's parents, as it was with most things, but she had felt that her friend was starting to become distant. Hope had wanted Isabel to be her maid of honor, but Isabel had said she was too busy with her own plans. Hope had to settle for another friend – Lilith Hollis – for the job. The girl and her husband – Michael – were sitting next to Hope this very second, actually.

Lilith had long, golden hair. Her skin was very pale, she was a very sick girl, and her blue eyes were full of naïveté. Her husband was tall and lean, with brown hair and dark eyes as serious as Lilith's were innocent. Lilith leaned over to whisper something to Michael, who nodded.

Lilith, Michael, and Arthur each stood erect and attentive; Hope, however, couldn't seem to stop moving. Every few seconds she moved to a different position, sighing each time she moved. Arthur had finally decided to grab and squeeze her hand, signaling her to stop and behave. She made a little moan at the gesture, at which Arthur stroked her hand with his thumb. Lilith, without gripping much attention, patted Hope's thigh briefly in an attempt to calm her down.

The vows were prolonged. The entire thing lasted two and a half hours! Hope was curious where all the extra time had come from; her own wedding was only forty-five minutes! Then again, this was the Vesper-Hollingsworth and Kabra families. They had planned the entire thing, Isabel and Vikram weren't aloud to have any part in their own wedding other than "performing" it and picking their bridesmaids and groomsmen. Isabel said she didn't mind, she just wanted to get it over with.

She looked uncomfortable in her dress. It was the kind of dress you might expect someone from royalty – which the two probably thought they were – might wear at their wedding. Puffy sleeves, puffy skirt, unnecessarily long train, sparkles everywhere, and flower accessories. Hope's dress had been a nightgown compared to Isabel's. She couldn't help but be jealous, it was part of being a girl. She was scared about what would happen when they both had children.

Hope had been so caught up in her thoughts, that she missed the "I do"s and the kiss. Everyone clapped, everyone cheered, and everyone congratulated them at the party.

Hope never got a reason as to why Isabel hadn't picked her best friend as her maid of honor.

* * *

Her mother never really approved of the friendship, she new it would only bring hardships. She knew the girl in question would someday be an important factor in the Clue Hunt, though she didn't know when or why. When the girl was born she knew for certain the horrible deeds Isabel Kabra would do.

Hope was at the hospital, but not for her baby (Amy wasn't supposed to arrive for another few days); She was there for Lilith's. Granted, Hope probably should've been resting, but this was an important moment for Lilith. Isabel was there too, with her son Ian.

Hope smiled at the boy. "He definitely looks like a crossbreed between you and Vikram."

Isabel analyzed his movement, making sure he wouldn't do anything to hurt himself. "His just a few months old, you can't really say that."

Hope scoffed. "Can too, that's what reproduction's for."

Arthur and Vikram came back from a separate room that held Michael and Lilth. "The baby's a girl." Vikram said with a stern face. Hope noticed that he was looking at Isabel, and no one else.

Arthur shivered. "On second thought, Hope, I don't want to be around when Amy's born."

Hope laughed. "You will be or I'll punch you."

Isabel looked down at her watch. "Well, Vikram and I better be going." She didn't give a reason.

Vikram leaned down and picked up his son, and laid him over his shoulder. The little babe looked at Hope and waved.

Hope made a little wave back. "He's adorable." Hope said Arthur as he sat down next to her.

"Mhm."

"Maybe he and Amy will get married."

"Amy hasn't even been born yet." Arthur put his arm around his wife's shoulders.

"It's never too late to plan."

"Yeah, but it can be too early."

They conversed for a while, waiting for a doctor to let them in to see Lilith, Michael, and the new addition.

Suddenly, a nurse walked by the couple with a bundle of something in her arms. She was headed towards to room where the Hollis family was. Arthur tried to grab her attention, but it was to no avail.

"Weird." Arthur mumbled.

Hope patted his leg. "Well, I need to find a bathroom."

"Want me to walk you?"

"No." Hope stood up.

"What if you go into labor?"

"Arthur," Hope said smoothly, "we're in a _hospital_."

Arthur scratched his head. "Right, right."

Hope smiled at her husband, assured him once more that she'd be fine, and promptly got herself lost.

She sighed. "This is pleasant." She surveyed her surroundings. The only three things she could see were two doors and a giant window that was covered by blinds. There was a hole in the blinds, a placed where one could easily look through. Hope, being curious, peeped through briefly to see what was going on.

There was a nurse, the one from earlier who had rushed by into the Hollis's room, and two bundles. One was moving around - easily a newborn baby - and the other was still - easily recognizable as a still-born. Hope made a small moan of sorrow to the still one.

The nurse made a strangled moan. "You are just like your mother!" Hope could barely hear the nurse because of the glass. "Lilith the Rowdy, that's what they called her!"

Wait. Lilith?

"You'd better change when you grow older, become more calm. If you don't," the nurse paused, possibly clicking her tongue, "who knows what I'll have to do, eh?" The nurse switched the bracelets on the babies' wrists.

Hope scrunched her eyebrows together. What on Earth was going on?

The nurse turned around. Hope gasped and ran to find Arthur.

It was Isabel.

* * *

"Arthur!" Hope screamed.

Arthur, who had been talking to Michael, looked over to his wife. She was in hysterics. "Hey, hey," He stroked her hair, "it's okay, what's going on?"

"It's not 'ok'!" Hope began to pant. "Isabel, she-she." She looked over at Michael. "Lilith, is she okay?"

Michael's eyebrows were knit. "Um, yes. In pain, but that's a bit natural don't you think?"

Hope put her hand on her heart and leaned against Arthur's chest, "Oh god, Arthur. Isabel, she-she…"

"What did Isabel do?" Arthur murmured.

"She…Oh god."

"What?"

"I think… Labor."

"I'll go get someone!" Michael went off in one direction.

Hope reached out for him, but he was gone. "Don't! No! Isabel!"

Arthur rubbed her back. "Sh, it's okay. Calm down."

Hope began to hyperventilate. "We need to tell–"

"Micheal's getting someone." Arthur assured her.

"No! Lilith, she–"

"Lilith is resting, she'll be fine."

"No, not that–"

A doctor came out and directed Hope and Arthur to a room. Hope kept trying to tell them what she had seen, but no one was listening to her correctly. They all thought she was worried about Lilith. She was, but this was much more important.

* * *

Hope remembered being really sweaty and feeling really gross and really weak. It wasn't a pleasant feeling.

She remembered that Lilith was beside her, gently stroking her hand. "You're lucky." Lilith whispered.

"Why?"

"Amy's alive. My baby, my little Diana, she died." Lilith tried to laugh. "I had a premonition that something bad would happen." She wiped her eyes.

Something struck a cord in Hope's mind. Dead baby… For some reason, Isabel kept popping back, but she couldn't figure out why.

"Isabel told me." She sniffed. "She came in holding a still blanket. I thought, _She's asleep, that's cute._ Isabel was holding back some kind of emotion, I couldn't for the life of me tell what. She handed me Diana, and said, 'She's still-born. I'm sorry.' And just left." Lilith paused to take a breath. "I didn't know what to do. The doctor was quiet, and told me this kind of thing just happens. He said something must've gone wrong in the pregnancy, but I don't ever remember anything. He said genetics…" Lilith stopped. "I'm sorry, this is about your girl, not mine."

"They'll be friends." Hope smiled. "Dead or alive, they'll be friends."

Lilith smiled. "She looks like you, Amy does. Red hair and all. Arthur's with her now, listening to what the doctor has to say about her. Perfectly healthy is what I heard. No complications." Her vioce cracked on the last word. "God, she's so cute."

Hope looked over to where Lilith was looking, in an attempt to see her daughter. There was a window leading into another room. Arthur and some doctor were face-to-face, with the doctor's back to Hope. Arthur looked up and saw that Hope was watching. He took Amy's hand, and helped the baby wave at her mother.

Hope smiled and fell asleep.

* * *

**I was debating for quite a while about putting Lilith in here, but I didn't have much of a choice. There wasn't much of a pusher, so BOOM. It's now alternate universe.**

**Also, I don't care what religion says, Lilith is an awesome name.**

**You can bash me about the OCs if you want, I understand.**


	7. Chapter 7

Hope could tell they would be best friends for a long time. The two had great chemistry, though they were asleep most of the time. When she brought up the subject to Isabel, she just scoffed.

"Oh, come _on_," Hope had pushed, "they're adorable!"

"Of course they are, they're _toddlers_." Isabel rolled her eyes and checked her cellphone.

"I wonder what they'll look like grown."

"We'll find out." Isabel clicked a button on her phone and got up from her seat, "Thanks again for babysitting him while I'm out." She picked up her purse and walked towards to door.

"No problem." Hope picked up Amy so she wouldn't hurt herself on the coffee table. Isabel said goodbye and left without waiting for a reply from Hope.

Hope sighed and looked at Ian. "Your mommy's busy, huh?" He just stared blankly at her before going back to his book.

She sighed and played with Amy. "What're we gonna do today, huh? Do you wanna go out to the park?"

Amy just stared at her and blinked a few times.

"No? I guess we'll stay at home and watch a Disney movie, then?"

Amy's face lit up and the suggestion seemed to spark some of Ian's interest. Hope noticed, "Do you get to watch Disney?" She asked the boy.

"The word is 'movie' is probably foreign to him," Arthur, walking in from the small kitchen, said. "He's probably going to grow up despising Disney because it was created by a Janus."

"Arthur, don't be cynical."

Arthur made a large shrug. "I spout only truth!"

Hope put Amy down by Ian, who turned his book so they could both read it, and went to the movie box. She pulled out _The Little Mermaid_ – Amy's favorite – and popped it into their old VCR. The opening sequence immediately grabbed Amy's attention.

One could tell that Ian was pretending to not be interested. Hope was sure the plot wasn't what grabbed the two year old's attention, it was the concept of a movie itself. Arthur was right, Isabel and Vikram probably weren't letting him watch things like this for fun. Or at all for that matter.

–

Isabel had missed a lot of Ian's firsts. She missed his first word – his own name – she missed his first steps, Hope practically potty trained the boy herself, she missed his first book, and she nearly missed his first birthday. Hope, being the positive person she tried to be, didn't realize Isabel's near abandonment until the day Ian accidently called her "Mum". After the word slipped he stopped midsentence and repeated what he had said, though this time he said "Miss Hope" instead of "Mum". He went about his day as if it hadn't happened, though he avoided Hope when possible.

"Arthur," Hope whispered one night, "you were right. About Isabel and Vikram and Ian. They aren't raising him right."

"They're raising him like Lucians, hm?" Arthur, half asleep, mumbled, "I told ya, didn't I? There isn't much we can do about it, I'm afraid. There is one thing, actually."

Hope turned towards her husband. "And pray tell what is that?"

Arthur smiled seductively at his wife. "Give him a god-brother."

–

It wasn't until another year that Hope actually became pregnant again, Isabel following soon after. Amy began to question her mother's growing stomach (Ian also seemed interested, though he never mentioned it as usual). She tried to explain as best she could that she would get a brother. Amy always said, "I already have one, though." Hope then had to explain why Ian wasn't actually her brother. She seemed to know the subject, but kept arguing that Ian was, indeed, her brother because he visited very often and pretty much lived with them.

Hope really couldn't argue with her.

The day Dan was born wasn't much different then the day any other baby was born. Well, unless you count the fact that, upon delivery, Dan hit his mother's hip bone rather hard. Other then that painful encounter, all went well.

Amy was forced to sit in a waiting room with Ian – who had been with the Cahills during his annual summer visit – and her mother's friend. The two children were going over one of their favorite books while Lilith watched over them.

"Lily?"

"Hm?"

"When will I see Danny?"

Lilith smiled down at the small girl and placed a hand on her own bump. "Soon, don't worry."

"Okay." She promptly went back to the book. "How do you say that?" She asked Ian.

"_Broom_. The two _o_s, the circle ones, make an _oo_ sound, see?"

"Mm." Ian had been teaching Amy phonics the last few weeks to show off his smarts. Hope didn't mind, but she did over see the lessons just in case.

A doctor came in and told Lilith a bunch of stuff that Amy didn't understand, and they were lead into where Hope was. She was lying in bed, smiling at a bunch of blankets in her arms. Arthur was standing next to her, also smiling at the blankets. Lilith helped Amy get on the bed to sit next to her mother.

"Here's your brother, Amy. Daniel Arthur."

"Just like Daddy?"

Hope smiled. "Just like Daddy."

–

Hope wasn't surprised when she had to babysit Natalie just a few days after she was born. She was forced to have Natalie and Dan stay in the same room together, and she soon found out that the two kids did not get along. Natalie preferred to look out the window, so Dan had to be placed on the completely opposite side. He didn't really like that, though, so he cried himself to sleep (Hope had tried to calm him down, but he wouldn't listen to her).

Amy and Ian didn't particularly want to pay attention to their younger siblings, and were much more interested in their lessons. Hope tried to butt in and teach them, but she soon figured out that Ian had been a much better teacher and left the two alone.

She was in the kitchen with Arthur when she finally said what had been on her mind.

"What?" Arthur chuckled.

"I feel like a bad mom," She repeated, "Ian takes better care of Amy and Dan wouldn't be quiet when I tried to calm him down."

Arthur hugged his wife. "Ian is three, hon. Not to mention he's only here a few times a year. And Dan's a baby, they never do what they're told."

"Amy was a quiet baby," Hope mumbled.

Arthur wrapped his arms around his wife and rocked her gently. "Amy is still quiet now. She's gonna be shy growing up, I bet."

Hope smiled.

"Ian's gonna be the guy who says 'You can't date my sister until I say so'. I can bet Dan probably won't, he's gonna be busy collecting baseball cards with me."

Hope rolled her eyes. "What makes you think that?"

"Cuz he's just like me when I was a baby. Loud."

Hope looked at the two three year olds in the living room. They got along perfectly, Ian even spoke for Amy on some occasions. Hope remembered when she took them to the park shortly after Dan was born, Ian had pushed her on the swings, made sure she didn't fall off of the monkey bars, and even helped her walk over a puddle so her shoes wouldn't get wet. Hope chuckled to herself. "He's gonna be such a gentlemen."

"Dan?" Arthur said in a confused tone.

"No, Ian."

"Well, duh. He's a Kabra. Aren't all the men supposed to be charming and handsome?"

Hope nodded, that was certainly true. She silently remembered when she and Vikram had dated briefly, she felt pretty important just being his friend.

"Maybe you were right." Arthur murmured.

"I'm a woman and a mother, I'm always right. But what I am I right about this time?"

"Maybe they will get married when they're older."

–

Amy was five when Ian stopped visiting.

She was very confused at first, because he had always been there and now he was suddenly gone, but then she thought it was just because school started up. When he didn't show during the winter time like he usually did, she questioned her mother.

"I don't know," She had said, "maybe he's just busy with his own things, hm?" She then asked when he would be visiting again. Her mother had shrugged. "I don't know, babe, I bet he'll write you a letter if you write him something. I bet he'd like it a lot if you did that since he taught you how."

So Hope sat down with her daughter and helped her write a letter to Ian. The basis of the letter was that she missed him, invited him to come over, and closed the letter with a simple "please write back". Hope warned her daughter that it would take a long time for the letter to get to him and then for a reply to get back to them, and Amy nodded her head.

They did receive a letter from the Kabras shortly after, but it wasn't from Ian and it wasn't for Amy.

_Hope,_ She winced at the lack of a "Dear".

_I think it best that our children no longer make contact other than your mother's silly reunions. They will prosper better without the other._

_Please respect my decision._

_Sincerely,_

_Isabel_

Hope sighed and began to think of a way to tell Amy.


	8. Chapter 8 Rewritten

**I've been thinking about this rewrite for a long time. I wasn't satisfied with the ending, which was written so badly because I just wanted to finish this fanfic, but it didn't bug me for a while. I want to point out that the first part of the chapter isn't rewritten quite as much as the last part, so – if you've already read this chapter and were unsatisfied by the ending – it would be most beneficial to you to just skip to the fire.**

Hope was considerably nervous the first Christmas gathering that came after Isabel pulled Ian away. Amy had said she was excited to see her old friend again, but Hope had a nagging feeling that Isabel was going to do something bad. She just hoped it wasn't something that would make Amy and Ian enemies, and yet she felt that was exactly what was going to happen.

Amy convinced her mother to let her hand-make Ian something for Christmas, something he could wear even when he was grown up. Hope suggested some kind of scarf, and it was made within the next week. It was very long and colorful and greatly resembled The Fourth Doctor's scarf. Hope showed Amy how to properly wrap up the box it was placed in and tie a bow onto said box; the two had few complications in the wrapping process.

When the time came for the Christmas party, Amy became very nervous. She had been all dressed up in her best dress and was about to see Ian for the first time in months. She wanted to look her very best, but she didn't feel pretty at all. She didn't dare mess with her mother's make-up, though, that would only end up in disaster. She was going to tell her mother that she didn't feel nice, but it was too late. Hope had her place Ian's gift under the tree with all the others. While she was there, she noticed that there was a rather large (at least to her) box. On the name tag was her name written in a scrawl that greatly resembled Ian's chicken scratch. She placed Ian's gift next to the box and ran off to find her mother. Hope took her by the hand and went off to find Ian.

He was with Natalie, who like Dan was only two, and it seemed like he was trying to teach her how to read.

"How about this one?" He asked her.

She scoffed at him, "I don _know_."

"Don'_t_," He emphasized the 't'.

She moaned and crossed her arms. "I'm gonna find Mummy." She got up and walked away.

Ian didn't seem to mind, he went right on back to his book.

Amy hid behind her mother's leg as they approached the boy. "Ian?" Hope said.

Ian looked up at her and then down at Amy. He smiled and beckoned her towards him. Amy, shy as she was, walked slowly over to him and gingerly sat down beside him.

"I was just reading this," He held up _To Kill a Mockingbird_, "Miss Irina thinks I'm too young to read it, but Mum and Papa think I should've read it earlier."

"What's it about?" Amy asked.

Hope smiled as the two children spoke about the classic novel. She went off to make sure Natalie didn't get herself hurt, but also to find Isabel.

"Mummy, hold me!"

"No, Natalie," Isabel said sternly, "you can handle yourself."

Hope bent down to the girl. "Remember me, Natalie?" Hope assumed she did because the girl's face lit up, "I'll hold you." Natalie came over to her and grabbed her neck, Hope lifted her up and supported with both arms. "You're getting pretty big!"

Natalie smiled. "I know."

Isabel looked over at Hope with no expression. "She can take care of herself just fine, Hope."

"Yes, but children need to be spoiled," She turned to Natalie and smiled, "it's shows them that they're loved."

Isabel's face seemed to contort briefly. "So I hear you and Arthur are planning a trip to South Africa?"

Hope nodded. "Not this coming summer, but the next."

"What will you do with Amy and Dan? They'll be…Seven and four right?"

"Six and three," She corrected, "We're planning on leaving them with my mother, she adores them." She looked over at Natalie. "Are you braiding my hair?"

"Mhm."

"Thank you, I'm sure it'll look lovely." She turned back to Isabel, "You should go to Africa, it's very nice there."

Isabel swirled the champagne in her hand. "Yes, I was planning to. It appears my plans to go are on the same summer as you."

Hope smiled sheepishly. "I would invite you to come with us, but it's our anniversary."

Isabel seemed agitated. "Well, I wouldn't want to intrude anyway."

"Is Vikram not going with you?"

"No."

Hope knew then that it was Lucian business. She and Isabel had made a pack not to intrude in the other's branch business; a chat at a Christmas party was no exception.

"Well, that's too bad," Hope finally said, "you should go together sometime."

Isabel inspected her drink. "Perhaps we will."

Hope, sensing the dying conversation, turned to the child in her arms. "Why don't we find you something to munch on? Dinner isn't for a while and we don't want you to eat too much, huh?"

Natalie just nodded.

The time came for the younger generation to open their presents under the tree (the older generation did so when the children were sleeping). Amy patiently awaited her turn, and lit up when Ian wrapped the scarf she'd made around his neck and smiled. Hope, however, noted Isabel's unsatisfied scowl.

Amy then opened the box that she had seen earlier – she could see, in the corner of her eye, Ian light up just a little. It was a teddy-bear, a home made one. Something she could easier hold onto with both arms and be perfectly comfortable. It was a comfort object, Amy's first since she was three.

She loved it instantly.

The children, after opening the rest of their presents, were sent to another room or sent off to bed. Hope offered to guide Ian and Natalie to the Kabra's guest rooms, to which Isabel and Vikram agreed grudgingly. Amy and Ian seemed perfectly fine a few feet back from Hope (who was holding Natalie and Dan's hands, trying to keep them separate) talking to one another. They admitted to giving the other the scarf/bear, thanked the other, and began talking about how the objects were made.

They eventually came to the Kabra's room. Ian promised to be good and look after his sister until his parents came, Amy hugged him goodbye, and the Cahills were off to their own room.

* * *

As fate had it, Arthur and Hope met Isabel in South Africa.

"Just stay calm, act normal." Arthur whispered to his wife as they were approached by the woman.

"I'm the definition of calm," Hope whispered back.

Isabel smiled at them very fakely. "Hullo, you two! I suppose we were meant to meet! How're Amy and Daniel?" She always refused to call him Dan.

"They're fine," Arthur said sternly.

"I'm sure they miss you."

"How are Ian and Natalie?" Hope asked with a smile. "I bet Ian's already–"

"Fine." She said it like her children were papers you threw away. "Enjoying your vacation?"

"Yes, this museum is very interesting." Hope noticed that her friend wasn't paying attention to them at all, it was something behind them. Hope tried to take a mental picture of Isabel's stature, but it wasn't one of her specialties. "Are you enjoying yourself?"

Isabel nodded mechanically. "I must go now, very nice to see you and all." She left without getting a word from the couple.

Hope immediately stood where Isabel had, and tried to find what she was looking at. The only thing in that direction was a guard, and she figured he had nothing to do with anything Isabel wanted.

Arthur had to drag his wife away from the museum. "It's fine, Hope," He didn't seem so sure of it himself.

"She was looking for something."

"We have to stay on task for our lead."

Hope sighed. "Have you ever wondered…"

"What would happen to Amy and Dan if we died?" Hope nodded. "Yeah, every day since Amy was born."

"I beat you," Hope managed a sad smile. "I've been wondering ever since before Amy was conceived."

Arthur caressed his wife's face. "Let's not dwell on things like that, shall we? Happy thoughts. This is an easy mission."

They happened into Isabel again at their hotel, which seemed much too strange for Hope. Thankfully their rooms weren't near each other, which eased Hope's anxiety by very little. It scared her a little bit, being scared of her own friend. She missed the days in college when the two would gush over Vikram, wondering about the off chance of one of them marrying him.

And then Isabel did.

Hope didn't have any lingering feeling for Vikram and she was pretty sure Isabel didn't either.

She got up at two in the morning to get something from the hotel's café. She choose a seat close to the exit, just to be sure. She noticed someone walk, very hastily, out the front door. Being bored, Hope took notice to the person. She recognized the person as Isabel, threw away her very full drink, and followed after her.

Hope was very confused about where Isabel was going until she saw the museum's sign. She made sure Isabel didn't see her as she ducked through the door after her. It was very hard to quiet her breathing, her nose reacted rather violently to the foreign air and became very stuffed the moment they landed and refused to drain. She was sure Isabel had looked back for a few times, but never investigated.

_Maybe she wants me to see_, Hope thought, _she's not stupid_.

That's when their friendship really tore. Most people said it was the fire itself, but it was really when Isabel killed the museum guard, the same one from earlier that day.

Hope herself never killed anyone, Arthur usually set the traps (that didn't count as murder, did it? He never killed them himself, and it was only the really, really nasty people), so she could feel her dinner come back up. At that moment, Hope didn't care if Isabel heard her, she ran as fast as she could out of the museum – probably setting off some alarms as she went. Eventually she stopped running, doubled over, and threw up everything that was in her stomach.

Somehow she managed to walk back to the hotel. She sat on the bed, waking Arthur, and began to cry. Arthur didn't understand what was wrong with her, and it took a great deal of time to finally get her to talk.

She told what she saw, and ended with, "We need to make the world safe for them, I don't care if I die," She sobbed, "I just want them to be safe."

* * *

She knew the moment they left that something was bad was going to happen.

Arthur seemed to be offed by something too, but he told her it was just seeing Eisenhower after all these years. In any normal family with a normal visit from members of said family that might've been acceptable, but this wasn't a normal family with normal members.

She led Amy back into her room, but left the door open just in case. She was just about to go to Dan's room to do the same thing, but Arthur stopped her. "I already did." He whispered. Hope nodded, but the knot in her stomach remained.

Arthur didn't bother trying to go back to bed; he went straight to the bookshelf where they hid the paper. Hope milled about the house, waiting for some sign of Isabel or Vikram – how strange that they had been best of friends mere years ago.

A loud screeching noise echoed throughout the area, the sound of a car taking off – or, in this case, a limousine. The smoke began to rise almost instantly after. "Arthur!" Hope screamed. "Arthur!" But she made no move to get to Arthur. She ran towards Dan's room and grabbed the boy without waking him, he uttered a small moan of protest as Hope nearly rammed his head into his doorframe. "Sorry, baby." She rushed into Amy's room and coaxed her out of bed.

"What's going on?" She asked while rubbing her eyes.

Hope grabbed her daughter's hand and led her outside. "I want you and Danny to stay outside until Mommy or Daddy or someone else you know comes out to get you, alright?"

"Why?" The first lick of a flame – at least that Hope noticed – danced in front of their eyes. Amy let out a shrill gasp.

"Just do what Mommy says!" She ran outside to the end of their driveway, dropped off the kids there and rushed back inside

"Mommy!" Amy called, but Hope wouldn't risk a glance back toward Amy.

Hope knew the rule about house fires: never go back inside no matter what. This was her _husband_, though, not to mention the key to her kids' future.

Or was a simple piece of paper really worth it? "Arthur!" It was a small clue that they had already figured out, perhaps it was better off gone. No, it _was_ better off gone. She rushed to the room she knew Arthur would be in and called his name one last time. He twisted towards her, sweat pouring down his forehead as the flames leaped around them.

"It's gone!" He called out in a cracked voice. "Someone took it!"

"Who cares?" Hope screeched. "I hate this family! Why can't we just have normal reunions and normal fights?"

"Hope, what if Isabel got it?"

"Let her have it! What're the chances she'll get everything else before the Madrigals stop her?" She took a deep breath of smoke, causing her to go into a coughing fit. Arthur rushed to her side to support her. "We've stopped the Lucians before, we'll do it again!"

A loud crack went through the room; Arthur grabbed Hope and moved to the opposite wall as quickly as he could. The room seemed to shake and groan as a large portion of the ceiling and room above them crashed down, blocking the doorway.

"The kids?"

"They're safe." Hope mumbled. She buried her face in Arthur's chest and took a long breath. "Just like we wanted."

Hope Cahill regretted becoming friends with Isabel Vesper-Hollingsworth.


End file.
